Zoo News

Free, interactive Smithsonian traveling exhibit!Feb 10, 2014

What animal-lover hasn’t experienced a special connection to another species, or dreamed of being a vet? This weekend at the Dallas Zoo, those dreamers can explore the human-animal world with “Animal Connections, Our Journey Together,” a free, interactive exhibition created by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service to mark the 150th anniversary of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

The exhibit is open to the public at the Dallas Zoo from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday through Monday, Feb. 15-17. It’s free, and Zoo admission isn’t required, although guests will want to take advantage of $5 Penguin Days admission. Parking is $8, or take the DART Red Line directly to the Dallas Zoo station.

Housed in an 18-wheeled truck that expands to 1,000 square feet, the exhibit is divided into five sections focusing on animals in the home, on the farm, at the zoo, in the wild and at the veterinary clinic. Special exhibits reveal the dangers to pets from plants or “people food,” show how vets-on-the-go use special tools such as cow magnets to treat large animals on farms, and how deer and suburban growth are co-evolving. Visitors even get to be the vet as they examine and diagnose virtual patients, including a dog, piglet and cheetah.

The exhibition explores the shared responsibility for animals’ health and well-being, and highlights the varied roles veterinarians play in the health of animals. Videos show how suburban areas have a great diversity of wildlife—from the squirrels trying to break into a birdfeeder to a bear lounging in a hammock.

“Animal Connections” was created by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) to mark the 150th anniversary of the American Veterinary Medical Association in 2013. The exhibition is made possible through the support of founding sponsor Zoetis Inc. and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation.